The acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic may have passed, but the virus's long-term effects persist for many people in Greece, with thousands living with long Covid. However, patients remain largely invisible to the Greek state because long Covid has not been formally recognised as a chronic disease, and there are no appropriate public health structures to support them. Misleading and false information about the condition further hampers diagnosis, prevention, care and rehabilitation.
An educational campaign, "Long Covid Mythbusters", by the World Health Organisation's (WHO) regional office for Europe, aims to combat misconceptions about the syndrome. Endorsed by "Long Covid Greece", an association of long Covid patients, the campaign has distributed information materials to medical associations, the Ministry of Health and the National Public Health Organisation (EODY), and urges the development of a national strategy that would include a patient registry, multidisciplinary care and formal recognition of the condition. The campaign was launched at the end of January and is set to continue until the end of March.
According to WHO estimates, around 6 per cent of people who contracted Covid-19 develop post-Covid conditions, and over 36 million individuals in the WHO's European Region may have experienced long Covid during the first three years of the pandemic. However, the true figure could be higher due to reduced testing and uneven surveillance after 2022. WHO also emphasises that SARS-CoV-2 continues to circulate widely and that long Covid remains a public health challenge.
Patients describe a wide range of symptoms, notably severe fatigue, dysautonomia and cognitive impairment. Eleni Iasonidou, president of Long Covid Greece, tells Voria.gr: "The pandemic might be over, but long Covid continues to exist. Besides, there are still new cases, but they aren't as severe as before. However, the likelihood of someone developing long Covid does not depend on the severity of the disease. These two are independent, so the risk persists and affects people of all ages. And of course, the effects are even more serious on young children, affecting their quality of life and their ability to work and study."
Advocates highlight considerable gaps in Greece's health system, including limited specialist clinics (mainly concentrated in Athens), the lack of structured diagnosis, the absence of integration with patients' social and labour rights, and minimal education for healthcare professionals on long Covid. Efforts since 2021 to engage the Ministry of Health have yielded little beyond recognition of ICD-10 coding, and dedicated post-Covid services established during the pandemic have since been dismantled.
The president of the patients' association further explains that engagement with the Greek Ministry of Health began in 2021. The only outcome of that dialogue was the inclusion of a diagnostic code in the social security system, without any clarification as to whether it is recognised as a chronic illness. Since then, Iasonidou noted, there has been no sustained communication or policy development despite repeated letters requesting follow-up discussions.
The WHO campaign also addresses prevalent myths about long Covid, clarifying, with evidence-based information, that the condition can affect anyone exposed to the virus, is not simply tiredness, persists beyond a few weeks, is not caused by stress or vaccination, and remains present even after the pandemic's peak.
By Foteini Stefanopoulou - adapted from Greek by Vassia Barba
